Hello lovely ladies! Sorry I am joining a little late. Like Kati, I just came back from a wonderful CCM ASB trip. I am so grateful for the experience. Although the trip to Tennessee was very last minute and somewhat disorganized, everything came together beautifully when we were down there. (I was also a leader for the first time, which an experience in itself!) God was so good to us and showed us a whole new type of love. He taught us compassion and He taught us to trust fully in Him. It's hard to explain the trip in a blog post, but I do want to tell you all about it! We spent the week getting up at 5am and serving breakfast to families staying at the Samaritan house (homeless shelter/temporary housing for single moms and their children). We cooked for a total of 20 people (we were not expecting such a crowd!). During the day we worked at a ministry center cleaning, sorting clothes, distributing food, and serving those who came to the center. We went back to the Samaritan house to cook dinner around 5 and played with the kids until 7 or so. Oh boy did we get attached to those little ones. We stayed at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, which was amazing. The hospitality was overwhelming. Growing up in a Catholic family and Catholic community has shaped me into the person I am today. However, this trip has made me realize that there is a lot about my faith that I do not know or fully understand.
The town we served in Tennessee is predominately Baptist. What I came to learn and appreciate is that although our religions are different, we have more similarities and differences. Most of the community was very welcoming and did not seem to care that we were Catholic, but there was an older gentleman who seemed to pick on us. He would make little jabs about our church history and said things that were not actually true. Fr. Dan, the priest at Holy Trinity, told us to stand up for our faith and kindly correct him. It sounds so simple. I am proud to be a Catholic and believe in the Catholic teachings, but how do I explain my faith to skeptics? I am not one for confrontation so I often find myself relying on others to do the dirty work for me. What scared me even more was when I actually met someone from this small town in Tennessee, which was quite out of the blue. Like many of you, I have struggled with jealousy issues when I see my friends happy and content with a significant other. I have never really had a "serious" relationship with anyone before and worry that I may not find that perfect someone, especially since I am getting up there in my college years! In the past, I feel that I have been to quick to judge others and often shut down a relationship before it even develops.
Part of my Lenten challenge this year is to be open-minded and turn to God through prayer for guidance. I think that I can be a very guarded person sometimes in fear of rejection and a broken heart. But when it comes down to it, there comes a point when you need to be vulnerable and confident all at the same time. I always pictured myself getting married to a strong, Catholic boy. Recently, I have been struggling with this concept since I have been talking to this boy from Tennessee. He is not Catholic, but he has a strong faith in God and has similar values. Who knows if this will actually turn into a relationship, but in general I wonder if I am doing myself an injustice when I just shut people out because they do not share my same religion. After all, aren't we praying and believing in the same God? I think my fear is that I would somehow get pulled away from my Catholic faith.
When it all comes down to it, I know that God will always be there for me and always love me. The Lord protects and guides me. My anxieties, worries, and fears are relieved when I fully put my trust in the Lord. God has a plan.
I am not sure if you all have heard of Mother Angelica, but she is a nun that started EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network). She has a few books that I have read and enjoyed. One book is called Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality. I highly recommend it. She is a spitfire and very wise. I wanted to share this except:
"A Prayer of Hope- Sometimes I feel like all is lost. We've all felt that. We've all felt like 'it's finished, we're bankrupt.' Some of you are spiritually bankrupt. What do you do at those moments? I look up and say, 'I put all my trust in You.' That's a prayer of hope. Try it sometime."
One more thing...check out this song/video...I feel like it is perfect for this blog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jABIjfkRVxI&feature=related
peace :)
-sorry this is a tad lengthy!
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ReplyDeleteI LOVE LOVE LOVE Phil Wickham!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is amazing. Major like. If you want more of his music, I have every CD....
ReplyDeleteCarole, I loved reading about your ASB experience! I'm so happy to hear you had a wonderful time, and I am certain you made an impact and difference in the people's lives.
ReplyDeleteAs for the boy relationship, I can understand where you are coming from. I've had 2 boyfriends, both being long relationships...my first boyfriend was when I was a freshman in high school, and lasted a year and a half. My second boyfriend was sophomore year of high school, and lasted just shy of three years (two of those being long distance). In my mind, I've always thought I would marry a strong Catholic boy as well. But both of my relationships have been with guys who were not Catholic. But I am glad that their faith did not stop me from dating them because I think I learned so much about myself, about my faith, and about relationships in general through dating them. Of course, now that they both didn't work out and were both Methodist, I always joke I'm never dating a Methodist again. LOL I think we all struggle with the concept of being with someone the same religion/faith because it is such a major part of who we are. But I think it is important that we don't necessarily let someone's demonination determine if we will be with them. I guess I am a little biased because when my parents got married, my mom was not Catholic. On the night of their wedding rehearsal, my grandpa pulled my dad aside and said, "you cannot marry her. She is not Catholic." And the day of their wedding, as they were going to their car, when my grandpa hugged my dad he said, "it'll never last." Had my dad listened to my grandpa, I would not be here. But he didn't. And my mom eventually started going to RCIA classes (without my dad's knowledge) just to see what the Catholic faith was about. She ended up converting to the Catholic faith (only telling my dad about it the week she was getting baptised LOL) because it was something she grew to appreciate and love, and the type of person she wanted to be. My parents have been happily married for 27 years now...and I can honestly say I have never seen anyone else as in love as they are. They still act like they are the 2 teenagers that just fell in love...even after 27 years. In fact, my mom's facebook status this year on Valentines Day said something along the lines of, "even after 27 years I still get butterflies when he asks me to be his Valentine!" I just think this is adorable and I think through them I see that yes, faith is important, but it can't always stop you from falling for someone. I think it is important to follow your heart and just pray about it. God will lead you to the right path and the right person. I think dating someone who is not Catholic can go one of two ways--it can pull you away from your faith, or it can make you stronger in it. And I think through my relationships, I have grown stronger in my faith. It made me realize how much I love the Catholic faith and how big of a part of me it is. I think it is almost a test for yourself when dating someone who is not Catholic, because if they start to pull you away from your faith, than you know it isn't right...because the person you are supposed to be with and meant to be with will love and support you and your beliefs, and only make you stronger in it.
...sorry that was kind of rambling, but that's my thoughts :)
Carole and Kati, I agree about not needing to date someone Catholic. I personally have experienced relationships with lots of different kinds of people- protestants, Catholics, people with really no faith, and even a Jew. All I have to say is, the more you have in common, the more you have to talk about, the more comfortable you are with them, and the closer you can feel to them very fast. So, if it's really the faith part that is a deep part of you, that's what you need in a husband. If you are not just into the relationship with Jesus but also highly focused on and devoted to the Sacraments and dogmas of the Catholic Church, it's going to be a bit harder to fall in love with someone who doesn't feel that way. Not impossible, just less likely. Personally, each time I date someone that is more faithful and/or more Catholic, I see a world of positive difference in the relationship. But that's just me.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not impossible, Carole. Like I've said to some other girls on this blog, do not merely run to run. All relationships (romantic or not) teach us something new about ourselves and if this relationship is ultimately a positive influence in your faith, please continue talking with this person. If it's negative, then let it go. Enjoy what you have at the present time.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the honesty, encouragement, and advice... soo much :) You all are wonderful.
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